Mobile services provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) posted a record number of mobile data users in the Philippines, which increased to 39.5 million by the end of June 2021, up by 6.1 million or 18% compared to the same period last year.

According to Smart, rival telco Globe ended June with 38.6 million mobile data users.

Smart’s mobile data revenues grew by 12% to P35 billion in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year, the competition, Smart said, posted a 7% growth over the same period.

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Since the start of the pandemic-related lockdowns in the first quarter of 2020, total mobile data traffic on Smart’s network has also reached a total of 4,460 petabytes.

Base stations

“As many Filipinos have shifted their daily activities online over the past few months, we are glad that most mobile data users have chosen Smart for a much faster and more reliable digital experience, whether to connect with loved ones, work or study from home, avail of essential services or to temporarily keep their worries at bay by streaming online shows or playing mobile games,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.

As of end-June 2021, Smart had increased the number of its base stations to over 68,500, an increase of 16% compared with end-2020. This includes more than 4,500 LTE base stations deployed in the first half of the year alone. Smart’s 5G network has also been fired up in over 4,000 sites nationwide.